


Nova Diamond

by Digigal_transbian



Series: Digigal Main WIPs [14]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:27:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27336403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Digigal_transbian/pseuds/Digigal_transbian
Summary: White Diamond catches wind of Pink's soon to be faked shattering, and decides to stop wasting time with the Pink gem. She makes a new Diamond, a better Diamond than Pink.She makes Nova Diamond, the successor to Pink Diamond's Court.
Series: Digigal Main WIPs [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772488
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

Pink Diamond has proved to be troublesome.

White Diamond looks down at the damaged Pearl. Pink managed to permanently damage the poor thing's eye, rendering her blind in that eye. Showing mercy to the poor gem, she used her powers and took control of the damaged Pearl. 

It was the least White could do to give Pink a new Pearl, one that could keep her in line. She even added in a Spinel to keep her appropriately entertained. 

But still, Pink is proving to be a nuisance.

Yellow and Blue caved to her desires and gave her a colony of her own after the incessant begging, but not long after colonization was underway, a band of particularly tricky rebels cropped up that Pink just will not get rid of.

"Pearl, bring me one of my Sapphires and Moissanites." White orders, formulating plans in her gem before the Sapphire can arrive.

"Yes, my Diamond." The Pearl replies in White's voice. She pulls a white bubble around herself and phases through the walls of her palace, never once breaking from her salute.

Now that that issue is dealt with, White moves her hand to her chin as she debates her next moves. Yellow and Blue were immediately cooperative when they formed, but when Pink formed there was nothing but chaos in her wake. Disruptive behavior befitting a Quartz does not belong coming from a Diamond. Depending on the Sapphire's visions, she might just make a new gem to take her place.

It'd certainly be easier to just make a new Diamond. Sure it'd be resource intensive, but Pink has proven time and time again that she's not ready to have a colony, she's not ready to be a proper Diamond. If she wanted to be treated like a proper Diamond, she's had thousands of years to act like one. 

Yellow and Blue are proper Diamonds, despite their flaws. Yellow bends to Blue's will, Blue bends to Pink's will. The major difference between Yellow, Blue, and Pink is that Yellow and Blue can say no to those flaws and keep themselves on the path they are supposed to be on. Meanwhile, Pink acts like a child, demanding to be treated like an adult.

How humerous.

Yellow and Blue eventually caved to Pink's will, giving her the planet Earth. Something deep inside White grew uncomfortable at that. Not that Yellow and Blue caved in and gave Pink a colony, something else. She feels as if Pink is going to make a horrible decision that will force their hands into something more complicated than it needs to be.

A chime pulls her out of her thoughts, her eyes locking on the door to her chamber immediately. Two gems walk in, a White Sapphire in the standard Sapphire's dress, and a Moissanite in black and white robes. 

"Sapphire, Moissanite, the things I will ask of you are not to leave this room, else I make you wish I shattered you, understood?" White Diamond starts, getting straight to the point.

"Of course, your radiance." They intone, perfectly in sync.

"Good," White smiles, "Now Sapphire, I've been reviewing the performance of Pink Diamond and I believe it could be greatly improved. However, I also believe it might not be worth the effort, she is a stubborn little thing after all. You know how I don't like to waste time, after all."

The Sapphire sits quietly for a moment, her eye scanning through future timelines until she can narrow down the most likely outcome, "The second era will be ushered in by the emergence of a new Diamond shortly after Pink Diamond's faked demise." She speaks, answering the matriarch's unspoken question.

"If that particular piece of information leaves this room, I'll have both of your facets shattered." White Diamond threatens casually, "But how will the Diamond be received?"

"The new Diamond will be treated cautiously at first, but over time she will come to be accepted properly." The Sapphire speaks calmly, confident in her predictions, "You will want to prepare both a Black Pearl and a Red Pearl, Your Radiance."

"Oh?" White Diamond hums with mild interest.

The Sapphire continues, "The new Diamond will bring wonderous advances to the prosperity of the Empire of Homeworld, as a Diamond should."

"Wonderful, Sapphire. Is there anything else I should keep in mind?"

"You will want to collect Pink Diamond's personal Spinel from her garden. She will cause problems in the future if she isn't transferred to the new Diamond's court."

"Thank you, Sapphire." White Diamond nods before turning to the other gem she requested, "Moissanite, I want you to put together a full team of highly qualified gems to work on the incubation process for the new Diamond. You will send the gems you choose directly to me for approval."

"Of course, My Diamond." Moissanite salutes, bowing out of respect and fear. Nothing quite compares to being in the presence of White Diamond, the largest gem to ever exist. Standing before the matriarch is like standing before the foot of god, her sheer size being enough to strike terror into the hearts of any dissenters.

"My pearl will be aiding you both throughout this," the matriarch announces, "I want to be absolutely certain that this goes without flaw. Yellow and Blue are not to find out until I tell them myself. Pink is never to find out, dead gems tell no tales."

"Of course, My Diamond." Sapphire and Moissanite intone.

White Diamond smiles the smile of a mother that has just gotten her way, "That will be all."


	2. Emergence Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Pink Fakes her shattering, the Diamonds and Pearls are present for the formation of their new member.

White Diamond is glad that she took the Sapphire's advice.

Pink Diamond was shattered.

Well, not exactly shattered, but the others don't know that, only White does. She decides to not tell them about Pink still being alive in Rose Quartz. It's not worth the time, they'll make a break for Earth and try to bring her back and no one will learn anything. If Pink wants to galavant around, causing problems, she can deal with the consequences from there. She knows that the final blast didn't destroy the surface gems, after all.

Besides, they need to be present for the emergence of Pink's replacement. It's only proper.

"How long until she emerges?"

"Should be any time now, My Diamond." The Moissanite replies with a steady voice.

"Excellent, are Yellow and Blue on their way?"

"They are."

White smiles. How wonderful, the gallery shall arrive soon enough. Very few gems are to observe the emergence of a new Diamond, and to some it would almost be called sacrilege. To her side stands the two Pearls the Sapphire predicted would be needed, one in full black with her gem in her forehead, and one in full red with her gem in her navel. Her own Pearl stands on her shoulder, perfectly balanced in her silent sentinel.

She glances down at the Black Pearl, uncomfortably familiar feelings swirling in her gem. Memories of long lost Era Zero traitorously echo in her mind. Black shadows form wispily in her mind in the vague form of a Diamond she wishes she could forget, an unnatural tenseness filling her before vanishing just as quickly.

Yellow and Blue Diamond approach with their Pearls in tow right behind them. White's Pearl effortlessly floats to the ground, landing directly in the middle of the four other present Pearls. The two most recent arrivals glance nervously at the bleached gem, but hold their tongues. After all, the reason she's bleached is right next to them.

"What is this about, White?" Blue asks quietly, the hood of her dark blue robes covering her head. 

"Well, I figured that all Diamonds should be present for the emergence of their newest one, no?"

A look of unbelieving shock splashes onto Yellow's and Blue's faces at the news.

"What do you-" Yellow tries before being cut off by White.

"Shh, it's starting."

An explosion of dirt blasts from the wall to reveal a dark red glow. The glow solidifies into a tall figure, shorter than Yellow Diamond by a head while still standing on the same level a Diamond should. Already, White is impressed.

The new Diamond's deep crimson, almost black hair rests in five distinct curls, spiraling behind her into a star shaped point. Red splotches sit in the mess of basically black hair, like the most distant stars against the cosmic background. A bit rough around the edges, but nothing that can't be handled.

Her platform heels glisten with red sparkles. A long crimson coat decorated with ornate black pauldrons covers her form, giving her an air of authority befitting a Diamond.

Her gem sits in her navel, culet pointed up. A similar fancy cut gem to the one Pink has, this one darker, more proper.

Yellow and Blue look at the new Diamond with unreadable emotions on their faces, their eyes mostly looking at White in an attempt to understand this decision.

White Diamond arrives on the ground in front of the confused Diamond, taking in the sight of the newest member of the Authority. The new gem is off color, but in mostly acceptable bounds. She seems capable enough to smooth out the rough patches if she ever has to reform from her gem. Her disorientation is something all Diamond have dealt with when they emerged, even her, due to the sheer wealth of information they have to immediately process.

"Oh, White Diamond!" The new Diamond says, straightening herself in respect, "Nova Diamond, at your service. It is a pleasure to be in your presence."

"Of course, my little nova." White Diamond smiles gently down on her. She sees why the Sapphire advised her to prepare two Pearls, the new Diamond is a blend of both colors and could benefit from a few extra sets of hands. Even she has a few of her own, the Bleached Pearl she keeps under her control being only the most recent addition to her personal Pearl collection.

She'll have to privately discuss with Yellow and Blue what exactly do with the new gem. The blurry image of an idea floats nebulously in her mind, and she knows just the gems to help her.

They'll get use out of that star yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nova's hair is kinda like a starfruit, but rounder.


	3. What Do We Do With Her?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Diamond trio discuss what to do with Nova in White's Extraction Chamber.

After having sent Nova off to Pink's old chambers with her Pearls to help with the adaptation process, they knew they would need to discuss the Diamond in the Kindergarten.

White Diamond's palace is a labyrinthine maze of seemingly endless halls. Only gems that know their ways around can navigate it, and only gems that are supposed to be there know how to do that. Few gems patrol the palace for any gems that are out of place, mostly Onyx guards that report to and from the nearby Cloud Agate. A handful of Peridots walk the halls regularly, keeping everything in perfect working order.

Albites and Silvers stalk the halls with purpose, moving between assignments under the watchful eyes of the White Topazes stationed at each critical point.

The three Diamonds walk through the tall, white corridors of the palace, Yellow and Blue following White who navigates the building with an ease that neither of the two ever quite managed in the past. The maze always seems to change shape every time they come through, despite the fact that nothing ever actually changes. Their Pearls stay close, being held in one of White's dishes as it trails just beside them.

White pauses for a moment as she glances down a mostly empty hall that looks distinctly older than the rest of the palace. They know it has something to do with Era Zero, but White always changes the subject and gives nonanswers when it comes up.

They reach White's extraction chamber, the White Topaz guards stepping aside silently to allow them entry. Her Pearl floats forwards and opens the door, revealing a sight that Yellow and Blue never quite get used to. The room is filled with a naturalistic underground grove in design, the actual extractor itself having the shape and appearance of a small lake being fed into by streams from a flowing waterfall. Natural crystals catch the light and refract it in a beautiful sparkling rainbow all around. An old mural sits carved above the doorway, depicting the history of the Diacrysian empire in full, marked with ornate glyph blocks so old that even Yellow and Blue have trouble reading them.

All in all, an almost perfect place to discuss their newest member away from prying ears.

The naturalness of the room's design is not the most unusual part to Yellow and Blue. No, the strangest thing is the few gems that actively tend to the secret grove, even while the Diamonds are undergoing an extraction. The cape several wear signifies them as part of White's inner circle, a group of gems she hand picked for special assignments, but that never explains the few who are definitely not part of said circle. Just barely below that on the strangeness scale is how none of the gems spare more than a glance in their direction upon entry. Still, their presence implies some level of status and an unspoken secrecy.

What happens in the extraction chamber, stays in the extraction chamber.

White Diamond herself snaps her fingers and makes her cape vanish in a twinkle of light. The floating dish containing the Pearls lowers to the ground, shimmering out of existence.

Yellow observes some gems on the small bridges that cover where the waterfall splits into streams, her eyes glancing over smaller ponds with a few of White's gems relaxing in the water, making casual conversation without a care in the world. The Diacrysian Master of War quietly existing in a room of peace as if there hadn't just been a civil war led by a too-large rebellion merely a few orbits ago. She spares a small look and a nod to her Pearl, signaling her to join the rest until she's needed.

Blue looks at the statues of the seven stellar elements that decorate the tops of the various towers in the chamber, a few gems sitting back and leisurely reading on balconies while listening to the sound of the babbling brooks of the extraction lake. She notices more of the old glyphs arranged neatly in their blocks sitting on plaques that she doubts most gems would even recognize as a language. She herself can only assume they're the old creation stories that sit at the core of their religion.

The room feels very… unlike Homeworld. There's far too much nature, too many plants, one would think they travelled to an alternate dimension upon crossing that threshold. But no, this room is as much of a part of Homeworld as any other structure on the planet, and that dissonance strikes Blue as extremely peculiar. White Diamond runs a tight ship, a Perfect Empire, why does this room exist in this way?

"What do you two think of Nova?" White asks as they settle onto outcroppings in the extraction lake set for their respective sizes, snapping Blue out of her thoughts as the water level raises to a more appropriately covering level. The steaming water soothes her form deeply, tension unwillingly melting off of her.

"In raw quality? I think she's adequate." Yellow replies, "She's a bit rough around the edges, but that's nothing that can't be smoothed out."

Blue makes note that she didn't once mention Pink. A distant look forms in her eyes as she looks anywhere but at her equals, holding her tongue as to not say anything out of line around the other gems. She has an image to maintain.

Her eyes catch on a Sapphire, laughing and enjoying herself with a Zircon and a Milky Quartz on a tower's balconies. It feels so improper to her for gems of those castes to mingle like that. The Quartz appears to be dramatically overacting a scene for the comedic effect, and it is definitely working given the ever stoic Sapphire's laughter. 

Contrary to the beliefs of many, gems do have recreational arts. It's an unusual sight to see a Quartz enjoying them, but not ultimately uncommon. So long as they do their jobs, that's the most important thing. Rarer are the Quartzes that pursue the arts in their free time, but even still they're common enough.

Fountains of White essence sit around the landscape, a few gems meditating around their edges as they take in the mentally restorative properties of the ichor.

A Pebble slips into the stream with an appropriately small splash and is carried off towards the Diamond's lake, tumbling through the water about as gracelessly as possible. Not long after she splashes into the lake, White Diamond flowers her hand into the water wordlessly and offers her hand to the little gem. The Pebble climbs up with a smile and hugs the matriarch's finger as she returns the little gem to dry land. With a tiny "thanks", the little gem runs off to join her friends again.

"It's much too soon." Blue says, her voice tense, "We just lost Pink, and we're already replacing her?"

A smile forms on White's face as she stares off into the distance. Inside her gem, she pictures the last Grand Diamond Council meeting she attended. Nova Red always was one of the ones she might consider a friend, as was Iridescent Pink.

The less said about her relationship with Black Diamond, the better.

"She's perfect, isn't she." White says wistfully, seeming to ignore Blue's comment.

"You can't be serious!" Blue exclaims.

"I am, Blue."

Blue glares at her accusingly, "You knew this would happen."

"I did." White nods, her ever present smile not even so much as budging.

"And yet you did nothing to save Pink?!" She yells tearfully.

Surprisingly none of the other gems in the room so much as look her way after her outburst. The lack of attention only serves to unsettle the Diamond even more. How dare the lower gems not give their Diamonds the attention and reverence they deserve?

"I was informed by one of my Sapphires that Pink would be shattered. Who are we to change fate?" White answers as passively as ever, "I had a White Sapphire give me the news herself, you know how their prophecies work. If a White Sapphire sees a tragedy, well, terrible be the fortune of the cause of the Sapphire's frown."

"We must be strong, Blue." Yellow attempts to placate the Diplomat, "Stars forbid the Otazvəl, Akroul, or Cozmeđu see a weakness and spark an  _ incident _ . We try to stay away from sentient planets in our Geoforming for a reason. I'm not sure I agree with White not telling us of this earlier, but she has her reasons. All we can do now is better, for Nova."

White's smile becomes strained at the mention of the Akroul, but they hardly notice. Both of them are too focused on each other, and White is thankful of it.

"We just lost one of our own, and you want me to just move on?!" Blue disbelievingly exclaims, indignation rich in her voice.

"We just had a civil war, Blue. You know the implications that puts on our kind." Yellow presses, "We have a court of gems without a Diamond, and we have a Diamond without a court. We need to deal with this appropriately before anyone gets any funny ideas. The last thing we need right now is another war."

Blue is stubbornly silent, looking anywhere but at Yellow.

"I miss Pink too, Blue, but right now is not the time to grieve. We have to be strong for the empire." Yellow sighs.

"Yellow is right, you know." White says, her voice almost uncharacteristically soft if Blue hadn't been questioning everything she knew about White for the past several minutes, "I understand that you're grieving, but now is the time to be strong. Perhaps we failed Pink, but the time to mourn our failings is after we've gotten Nova settled into her position. When she's settled in, I can arrange as much time as you need to mourn."

"...why? Why have your extraction chamber like this, White?" Blue asks, changing the subject. Lingering on the subject of Pink is too painful.

White has the sheer audacity to shrug, "A bit of an odd question, but I enjoy the complex simplicity of it all. It gives me a chance to step away from my duties and relax. I can handle the pressure, but I do enjoy being without it for a moment."

"But why let so many gems just," Blue Diamond pauses for a moment, deciding on the right word, "Be here? Surely they have duties to attend to?"

White Diamond nods, "They do, and those duties do get taken care of. I'm afraid I can't give you the answer you seek myself. You'll have to come to the conclusion on your own, both of you will. Think of it as your next lesson in leadership."

"Next lesson?" Yellow asks, voicing Blue's thoughts, "I thought we finished our lessons eons ago?"

White Diamond chuckles softly, "Oh, Sunlight, you never truly stop learning how to be a good leader."

"Why can't you tell us?" Blue asks.

"Some lessons you need to learn on your own." White explains, "The two of you can work together to find an answer, but no asking around for it. You'll understand this room in time."

"But if you have some gems like this, what is so different from those blasted Crystal Gems?" Blue pushes.

White looks up at the mural that sits above the door to the chamber, her eyes roaming the intricately carved stone before she answers, "Change is all well and good, but we have a process for that. Any suggestions have proper channels to go through, Zircons are involved to hammer out the specifics, Sapphires are consulted, you know how these things work. Rose Quartz never brought the suggestion through any of the offered channels, instead opting to form a band of rebels in an attempt to chase us away from Earth. They're the ones who escalated the conflict, we could have solved this matter peacefully and quietly had they gone and done things the way they have to be."

"If every gem's suggestions were listened to without our screening process, we'd never get any work done. The empire would be stagnant, gems would splinter off into their own tribes, and we would have chaos." White continues, "Our job is to bring order to the chaos of trillions, to keep the empire running as the well oiled machine that it is. We are all cogs in the system, maintaining a unified Diacrysian presence in this galactic cluster."

A more comfortable silence lapses between the Diamonds, the peaceful sounds of the warmly flowing waters in the chamber mingling with the idle conversations being made by the other gems.

"Perhaps," Blue begins with a sigh, "We should give Nova the star system Earth is located in, as a way to keep the planet close to us, but still with her in some capacity."

"That can be arranged." White says in agreement, "I was planning on the same thing, actually. There are valuable resources in that system, I figure that the other planets would make excellent starting points for Nova to take her first steps on."

"The second planet in that system would certainly prove an interesting challenge if she decides to try and colonize it." Yellow remarks, "Acid rain, extreme temperatures, high pressures, she's going to have to work for it if she wants it."

"It will certainly be a different approach than what we did with Pink. Perhaps that will do Nova some good." White offers passively, "While she ultimately brought her own fate upon herself, there are things we could have done differently. She was different, but not unworkable. You were too involved, and I was too uninvolved, but such is the scientific method."

Blue and Yellow hum for a moment, thinking over the decision.

"And how's this for some extra incentive to help Nova succeed, if the Sol Crystal System is a success, I will tell you everything you want to know about Era Zero." White offers, sweetening the deal into something they can't refuse.

Surprise flashes onto Yellow and Blue's faces. White offering to talk about Era Zero, the very thing she's been so tight lipped about ever since they emerged? The opportunity is too good to pass up. She's manipulative at times, but she's not a liar. If White sets a condition that she will personally do something, she always does.

Now only to inform Nova of their decision.


End file.
